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<br />THE CLIMATE <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The climote of the Denver region is semi-Arid. AverAge AnnuAl <br /> <br />precipitAt~on At Denver is 13.8 inches. However, annual precipitAtion <br /> <br />has varied from 22.96 inches to 6.27 inches. Normally, seventy percent <br /> <br />of the Annual precipitAtion occurs during the spring And summer. <br /> <br />STOHMS <br />Flood-producing runoff may result from the general rains over large <br /> <br />areas, typical of the spring seAson, or from the thunderstorms of the <br /> <br />summer months which yield high-intensity, short-duration rainfall. <br />HISTOHIC MAXIMUMS <br />The maximum 24-hour rainfall recorded at Denver WAS 6.53 inches in <br /> <br />May 1876. The maximum 24-hour snowfall recorded At Denver was 23 inches <br /> <br />in April 188). <br /> <br />STORM RAINFALL POTENTIAL <br />The storms of May 1876 and May 1935 illustrate the more extreme <br /> <br />rainfall depths which can occur in the Denver area. The storm of May <br /> <br />1935 is one of the greatest storms of record in the United States. It <br /> <br />occurred over the KiOWA Creek and Republican River basins, covering an <br /> <br />area of 5,000 square miles with average rainfAll depths of 4 inches in <br /> <br />24 hours. One storm center occurred ten miles south of KiOWA, Colorado, <br /> <br />a few mile~ eAst of the Cherry Creek WAtershed. At this center, 24 <br /> <br />inches 9f rain fell within a four-hour period. The Average rainfAll for <br />a ten square mile areA at its center was 20.6 inches in six hours. <br /> <br />Although this storm occurred outside the Denver area, there is no known <br /> <br />meteorological factor which would prevent its occurrence in the Denver <br /> <br />metropolitan region. Figure 3 illustrates Denver's previous rainfall <br /> <br />experience in relation to rainfall experienced during the May 1935 storm. <br /> <br />5 <br />